


Prelude

by Zharena



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: M/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28083708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zharena/pseuds/Zharena
Summary: Just before the big event, Lio and Galo reflect.
Relationships: Background Gueira/Meis - Relationship, Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 14
Kudos: 28
Collections: Cauterize: A LioGalo Wedding Zine - Contributor Works





	Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> I did a thing for the wedding zine! Not much to say except I listened to way too much First Aid Kit while listening to it, had a lot of fun with the wedding headcanons, and ended up with a little less pairing action than I wanted...but hey, I built a pretty solid mood. ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

“You almost ready?”

The door frame creaked as Gueira leaned on the oak, a glass of bourbon dangling from each hand. Lio glanced in the mirror, examining his shirt for what felt like the thirtieth time that day, frowning. He’d liked the garment when he first picked it out, a black collared button down with long, simple ruffles ending at his waist. It was less intricate than some of the other shirts he preferred, but just as sophisticated and accentuated his waist nicely.

Now, it seemed to want to do anything but cooperate. Lio huffed, pushing down a section of fabric near his shoulder that seemed to have a mind of its own.

“You look fine, boss. Sit down and have a drink with us.”

_Boss._ How long had it been since someone had called him that? For years after he had saved the world, his former generals and, to a lesser extent, the other Burnish had continued calling him by his title as a form of affection. But a decade had passed since then, and he couldn’t remember when his old identity had slipped away, couldn’t remember when he had become simply “Lio.”

It had started with Galo. That much, he remembered. Galo had been the first one to treat him as “Lio”, to see him as a person outside of his leader role. He supposed it was natural – the other Mad Burnish had only ever looked to him as a leader and though they had seen some of his more vulnerable moments, they had seen him as their superior first and foremost. Likewise, the other Burnish had seen him as the same, or perhaps even more reverent: a shepherd guiding them to safety. Galo had seen him be brave, had seen him fight and lead and laugh and cry, had seen and loved who Lio was without the cloak of leadership to shroud himself in.

The others had come around, too, slowly.

Gueira flopped down onto the chaise, taking care not to spill their drinks on the brown leather. Lio joined him a moment later, plopping down on the curved portion and taking one of the glasses from him.

“God, I haven’t had one of these in forever,” Lio remarked. “Galo’s not a big bourbon person and we’ve been trying to save money for the wedding.”

“Bet you’re excited for the next couple of days, then.”

“ _Absolutely,”_ he said, taking a sip.

“Hey, at least wait for Meis to get here!”

Gueira sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Nearly forty, his vibrant red hair had started to gain a peppering of gray strands, and the old leather jacket he’d kept from back then no longer zippered up. Still, he was as vibrant and energetic as ever, outlasting most of their extended friend group on nights out.

“Where is he, anyway?” Lio asked.

“He should be here in a second. I think he was prepping Galo on some of Mad Burnish’s old wedding traditions.”

“I’ve briefed him on them a bunch of times, though.”

Gueira shrugged.

“You’d be surprised at what you forget on the big day.”

As if on cue, Meis appeared in the doorway, an empty glass in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. Even from where he was sitting, Lio could see his wedding band gleaming under the yellow light of the old manor. Gueira beamed.

“Now the party’s _really_ getting started.”

“Way to make me sound boring,” Lio pouted.

“He has a point. You’re definitely not as wild as you used to be, not since you got with goody two-shoes over in the other room,” he teased. “Well, I guess none of us are _that_ wild anymore. Except maybe this one.”

He gestured at Gueira with his head; his husband grinned. Meis sighed and walked to the console table near them, set the glass down, and poured some of the liquid out, taking care not to fill up the glass too much. Once he was satisfied with his portion of alcohol, he turned around to face the rest of the group.

Meis’s fingers were thin, and they wrapped around the drink with a bony strength that a part of Lio feared would give out at any moment. _Just like a few years ago,_ he thought, glancing at Meis’s short hair. He tried not to – today was supposed to be a happy day – but he stop his mind from wandering, couldn’t help those nights of crying into Galo’s arms about losing one of the most integral members of his family resurfacing.

He stopped. Took a breath. Reminded himself that Meis was still with them, that he was healthy and would be for some time longer if they were lucky. His former second-in-command took a seat between him and Gueira, fitting snugly between them, a worried look on his face.

“Lio?” Meis asked softly, shaking his shoulder. “You okay?”

He snapped out of his thoughts.

“Sorry, I’m just really glad you’re here, Meis. That both of you are, I mean. That we made it this far. It. I,” he stammered, swirling his liquid around in the glass. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know what to say right now.”

“That’s okay, it’s a big day. It’s normal to be overwhelmed.”

“I just can’t believe any of this is happening right now,” he admitted.

“It doesn’t feel real, right?” Gueira said. “That was how I felt with Meis. Like I couldn’t believe I was actually getting married with like, a real home to return to after everything was done and not just a shitty blanket in a cave somewhere.”

“We had nothing,” Meis said wistfully, swirling his drink, “and now we have everything.”

_Everything._ It was a weighty, malleable word, one that was hollow and fruitful, breathtaking and suffocating; its meaning molded by hands that had always seemed far out of Lio’s grasp. His blood family, his awakening, Freeze Force. Rebellion, survival, protection – those had been his everything for so long until suddenly, they hadn’t been.

Lio rubbed his thumb against his engagement ring and thought. Thought of their apartment, cozy but roomy enough for two. Thought of the teal woven rug in the living room that had lost its softness over time from the countless moments they’d trekked across it, ran his fingers along the picture frames that dotted their home. Heard the pair of budgies that lived in their kitchen cooing to each other between blue and green feathered snuggles.

“Everything,” he repeated.

“I say we toast to that,” Gueira suggested. “To everything.”

“I agree.”

Nothing felt more right in Lio’s heart. Smiling, he raised his glass to his friends.

“Yeah. To everything, guys.”

* * *

“It’s almost time to go,” Aina said, setting her empty glass down. She fidgeted with the black piece of fabric Meis had given her, wrapping it around her palms absentmindedly. “Meis said we could wait until we got to the first floor before I put this on you.”

“That’s a relief,” Galo said. “I’d trip down the stairs otherwise.”

“Here’s hoping you don’t trip on the way to the ceremony,” Ignis remarked. “This place is hilly. Killer on the knees.”

“Maybe, but thankfully we’re not all _old men_ ,” Lucia commented, a playful snicker leaping from her lips. “Seriously though, you okay to walk over? It’s kind of far.”

“Should be. There’s a reason I’m still able to work at Burning Rescue.” Ignis grinned. “Even though I’m not in as great shape as I used to be. I’m more worried about Galo over here. He’s not going to be able to see in front of him.”

“And he’ll be carrying a torch,” Aina added.

“That’s only at the end,” Galo clarified. “I’d probably set the entire forest on fire if I had to hold it the whole way down.

To say he was nervous about the ceremony would have been an understatement. He couldn’t stop thinking about all the ways it could go horribly wrong, rattling off the possibilities: to himself setting an entire forest on fire, setting one of the attendees on fire, tripping and setting-

“Galo? You’re doing it again,” Lucia said.

“Doing what?”

“That thing you do when you get nervous.”

“You were thinking about falling down and setting Lio on fire by accident, weren’t you?”

_“_ No!”

“But you were _about_ to think it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re still a bad liar,” Aina laughed. “Seriously though, you’re going to be fine. How many times did you practice with Lio?”

Galo gulped.

“Ten.”

“And did you trip?”

“The first few times.”

“You’ll be fine,” Lucia said.

“You’ll be fine,” Aina repeated. Ignis concurred.

“I’m going to be carrying a _torch_ this time.”

“So what’s a little pyrotechnics added to the mix?” Lucia elbowed Aina playfully.

Meis and Lio had gone over the basics of the ceremony numerous times. Due to how scattered the Burnish had been, there were technically no set rules to Burnish wedding ceremonies. Many eschewed the process entirely. Others had blended modified their rites from their own religious backgrounds with the will of the flames, trying to unite their old understanding of life with the voices of the flames. Some groups, such as the Mad Burnish, had developed their own rituals entirely, varying wildly in complexity and length.

After the Burnish lost their flames, they continued to incorporate elements of their old rituals into their wedding ceremonies. Some rites were impossible, now; things like burning your significant other, or channeling your dedication to the other through flame, and had to be adapted symbolically. Others could be adapted fairly easily: things like burning a prized possession or a controlled fire.

Galo and Lio’s wedding, just as many other Burnish and non-Burnish unions, had been split into two parts. On the first night, they would observe an adapted version of Mad Burnish’s wedding rites. Soon, they would be blindfolded and led out of the house to a bridge in the woods, where they would be given a torch to hold. Together, they would wrap their hands around it and cross the bridge to the clearing, trusting one another to guide themselves safely across until they reached a fire pit. There, a former member of Mad Burnish would facilitate the ceremony, where they would say their vows and lower the torch into the pit. Only once it was engulfed in flames would they be able to remove their blindfolds and put their first set of wedding bands on.

The onyx rings were thin, about half the size of the average band, and had been designed for ceremonies such as theirs that had multiple components. A second, silver set would be exchanged the following day at their lunch reception. Both rings were intended to be worn together, symbolizing a union of two worlds, of two distinctly different, but connected pasts.

Aina’s phone buzzed again.

“It’s time to go,” she said. “I’ll text Meis that we’re heading down.”

Galo breathed as he watched Aina and Lucia leave ahead of him, the realization that _this was actually happening_ setting in. He was marrying Lio. He was marrying Lio and had to try _not_ to accidentally set their wedding venue on fire. Damn himself for not being a lightweight – those vodka shots would have helped to calm his nerves considerably.

Slowly, he made his way over to the stairs, Ignis following behind him. The room seemed to pass them in a blur, almost like he was watching it move from outside of his own body. Suddenly, Ignis placed a hand on his shoulder. Galo turned to face him.

“I just wanted to say that I’m proud of you, and the person you’ve become over the years,” he started. Galo felt a lump rise in his throat; they both knew _who_ Ignis was comparing him to, although no one dared say his name anymore. “I’ve also seen a lot of weddings in my life, I can say for sure that what you and Lio have is rare. I’ve never seen two people who love each other more than you do.”

“Th-thanks, Captain,” Galo stammered.

Ignis, who had never one to be good at ending conversations, sniffed and pulled him into a hug.

* * *

With blindfolds on, they could only be sure of two things.

One: that their world felt simultaneously intimate and chaotic, the nonsensical medley of cool September air on their noses, the woodsy scent of pine, and voices of their friends overwhelming their senses.

Two: that their other half holding the torch - an accent, a motif, a conductor - seemed to make that song of life make sense, somehow.

“Stay still,” Meis whispered. “Gueira’s going to light the torch.”

The click of the lighter filled the air, summoning a heat that fan their faces. To Lio, it was familiar and comforting, like a hug from a friend; to Galo, it was a powerful force he had come to love and respect.

Their lives had been forged from flame, after all.

They sensed the crowd parting to make room for them to walk. Lio rubbed his thumb along Galo’s and whispered the phrase they’d heard so many times that day:

“Are you ready?”

Galo breathed.

“Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can feel free to follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/zharena2).


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